Talk:AMERICA/@comment-108.194.25.40-20151203101652/@comment-24663971-20151204154511
I don't really see the Shogun or the Emperor being portrayed in a positive light, apart from the fact they are, by some, considered "victims" in the 12/5 incident. In fact, they are barely touched on at all during the series; again, showing the fact that they are there as figureheads and not an influence over the government. Also, and I think this is the key factor here, is that the Shogun and Emperor are both meant to appear as innocent, honorable, virtuous, and almost above the rest of the Japanese. That is how it is in current culture, or at least past Japanese culture, and that is what makes them such strong figureheads when the people believe them to be inherently better. That is what makes the Japanese people unite through a common culture and a leader who embodies that, even if that leader has no actual political power. If you could claim that there is favoritism or sappy writing at all, it would be because of this and it's done on purpose from a cultural standpoint. This doesn't mean that Meiya, Yuuhi, or anyone else is actually perfect; the game itself does a great job of showing the exact opposite. Little blame is placed on the Shogunate directly by other parties because of a myriad of reasons; sometimes out of respect, out of honor, out of understanding of the actual political situation etc. Yuuhi blaming herself says a lot about her selfless character but she has a point; she is in an element of fault because of she pushed harder against her office's boundaries, she may have done something useful before the 12/5 incident occurred. And, being the Shogun, she can be completely honest about her own actions and the lack of effect they have had, whereas Meiya, Tsukuyomi, and even the Diet would probably not speak out of turn if only as a matter of respect to Yuuhi as a supreme noble. Again, it's not favoritism but simply part of the culture that they respect the Shogun and the Emperor, regardless of who is actually at fault. And I disagree that we are made to think Meiya, Yuuhi, and Tsukuyomi are paragons of virtue; they uphold certain values, again very Japanese-traditional values, but even by the end of the game Takeru hasn't "gone to their side" but has come to terms that both sides have value in their arguments: he still went his own way. The same way players can value the selfless ideals these characters present but still find ways to argue against it with more pragmatism or logic-based thinking. Yuuko offers a great inverse to the traditional Japanese thinking that aligns more similarly to the USA's stance, and she herself is Japanese and has to first hand deal with the consequences of the Japanese's governments actions. Simply because the writers choose to highlight some aspects of feudal Japanese culture and offer both some positive and negative (yes, again, the series as a whole does not paint the nobility as innocent or perfect by any means) does not mean they themselves are right-wing, nationalistic, or pushing an agenda. Alastor said it perfectly: simply because a writer writes about a subject does not mean they are attempting to push an agenda or subscribe to that belief. And even if they were right wing, this is a fantasy setting and should be taken as such. Looking underneath the underneath is just chasing ghosts and is rarely accurate to the actual theme or morality the media is meant to portray. You can make links between as many points as you want but it doesn't make it right or wrong since this is a creative medium and unless otherwise stated, is not meant to be taken as a serious window to the real world. Kouki himself said that while they wrote Muv Luv in a way so that they could highlight societal issues and reference pop culture and other trends, but they also shied away from specific historical details because they did not want to directly offend anyone by pointing to a certain event or alienate western audiences which makes sense from a business standpoint (i.e releasing a game that shows the Nanking Massacre in Japan would be business suicide). I mean, I see your point that with the 12/5 incident specifically the Shogun was made to look innocent, but really she was just caught in the crossfire and was again highlighted as fairly helpless in the entire ordeal until the end where it's thanks to her (and Meiya's) resolve they are able to find a solution to the issue. But that's where my point that Japan and its characters, especially the main cast, are protagonists and one side has to be painted as 'bad' and the other 'good' for the sake of plot progression. The great thing about Alternative, as well as The Day After and other series, is that the Shogun and the nobility are seen to be less than perfect and the normal government isn't always seen as bad. I mean, Sakaki Prime Minister was a moderate and he was killed by Sagiri, and he was part of the 'bad' government and was trying to do good and bridge the gap between the Shogun and the Diet; it just wasn't enough, again highlighting the hopeless theme of Muv Luv.